Ullensvang is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

is the town of Odda. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Lofthus, Utne, Vikebygd, Alsåker, Botnen,

Eitrheim Eitrheim is a village in Ullensvang municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The industrial village is located on a small peninsula near the southern shore of the Sørfjorden, just 3 kilometers (1.9mi) north of the town of Odda. Since 2003, it h ...

, Håra, Røldal, Seljestad,

Skare Skare or Skarde is a village in Ullensvang municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located about straight south of the town of Odda and about northwest of the village of Seljestad. The village sits at the junction of Norwegia ...

, Tyssedal, Jondal, Herand, Kysnesstranda, and

Torsnes Torsnes is a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. It is the site of Torsnes Church (''Torsnes kirke''). History Torsnes was created by a split from Borge on 1 January 1910. At that time Torsnes had a population of 1,538. On 1 January ...

. The main inhabited part of Ullensvang municipality lies just to the west of Hardangervidda National Park, which covers most of the Hardangervidda plateau, Europe's largest mountain plateau. Most inhabitants live in the narrow coastal mountainsides and

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s along the Hardangerfjorden and Sørfjorden. The largest urban areas in Ullensvang are Odda, Kinsarvik, Jondal, and Lofthus. The

Norwegian National Road 13 National Road 13 ( no, Riksvei 13, ) is a national road which runs from the town of Stavanger in Rogaland county to the village of Sogndalsfjøra in Vestland county. The route is long and runs south–north through Rogaland and Vestland count ...

and the European route E134 are the two main roads through the municipality. National road 13 crosses the Hardangerfjorden via the Hardanger Bridge in the far northern part of the municipality. The municipality is the 12th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ullensvang is the 104th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,881. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is and its population has decreased by 4.7% over the previous 10-year period. The number of inhabitants has shown a decrease of several hundred people since 1980. This development can be seen in light of the general depopulation of rural

. In 2016, the chief of police for

Vestlandet Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administ ...

formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station for ''Ullensvang og Eidfjord'' be closed.

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

) is named after the old ''Ullensvang'' farm ( non, Ullinsvangr), since Ullensvang Church was built there. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can a ...

of the name of the Norse god ''Ullin'' (sideform of

Ullr In Norse mythology, Ullr (Old Norse: ) is a god associated with archery. Although literary attestations of Ullr are sparse, evidence including relatively ancient place-name evidence from Scandinavia suggests that he was a major god in earlier ...

). The last element is ''vangr'' which means " field" or "

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

". Prior to the 2020 municipal merger, this municipality was called ''Ullensvang herad'', but after the merger it was called ''Ullensvang kommune''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 8 November 1979. The arms are red with a horizontal gold stripe across the middle, with three gold

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

designs (two above the stripe, one below). The municipal arms are derived from the arms of

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

from the area, Sigurd Brynjulvsson Galte, and they can be seen on his gravestone dating back to 1302 at the local church. As it is the oldest gravestone in the church, the arms were well known in the village, hence the choice for the arms of this

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

as municipal arms. On 1 January 2020, the arms were modified by changing the colors from red and gold to blue and white after a large municipal merger. Ullensvang komm 2020.svg, Current arms since 2020 Ullensvang komm.svg, Arms from 1979 to 2019

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church ...

has eight parishes () within the municipality of Ullensvang. It is part of the

Hardanger og Voss prosti Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

History

On 1 January 1838, the large

of Kinsarvik was established as a municipality (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janu ...

law). The large parish was made up of the main parish and the annex of Ullensvang. On 1 January 1869, Ullensvang became the main parish and Kinsarvik became an annex to Ullensvang. At this time the municipality changed its name to ''Ullensvang''. On 1 January 1882, a small area of Ullensvang (population: 22) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Vikør. On 1 July 1913, the municipality of Ullensvang was divided into three parts: the northwestern part became Kinsarvik Municipality, the southern part became Odda Municipality, and the rest remained as Ullensvang Municipality, albeit much smaller. This left Ullensvang with 1,941 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post- World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Munici ...

. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged into one large municipality: all of Ullensvang Municipality, all of Eidfjord Municipality, and most of Kinsarvik Municipality (except for the Lussand-Kvanndal area which went to Granvin Municipality). The newly enlarged municipality was named Ullensvang. On 1 January 1965, the Åsgrenda area of

Kvam Municipality Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located along the Hardangerfjorden in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Norheimsund. Other larger settle ...

(population: 61) was transferred to Ullensvang. This new, large municipality of Ullensvang that was created in 1964-1965 was not long-lived. On 1 January 1977, the area that once was Eidfjord Municipality became its own municipality once again. This left Ullensvang with 3,937 residents. On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of Jondal,

Odda Odda () is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It was located in southeastern Hordaland ...

, and Ullensvang were merged into a new, larger Ullensvang Municipality. At that time, the

was moved from the village of Kinsarvik to the larger town of Odda. On 1 January 2022, the Ytre Bu area of Ullensvang (population: 24) was transferred to the neighboring Eidfjord Municipality.

Geography

The municipality of Ullensvang is located on the shores of the Hardangerfjorden and the Sørfjorden and it stretches all the way up to the Folgefonna glacier inside Folgefonna National Park on the Folgefonna peninsula in the western part of the municipality. It continues up to the vast Hardangervidda plateau in the east, including part of the Hardangervidda National Park. The lakes Kvensjøen and Veivatnet as well as the mountain Hårteigen are all located in Ullensvang on the plateau.

Climate

The lowland areas of Ullensvang near the Hardanger fjord has a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(marine west coast climate, Cfb in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

). The average daily high range from in January and February to in July. The driest season is April - August, while the wettest is October - March. The all-time high temperature is recorded 28 July 2019; the all-time low is recorded 9 February 1966. The weather station Ullensvang Forsøksgard has been recording temperature since 1865.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Ullensvang, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elects a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the

Hordaland District Court Hordaland District Court ( no, Hordaland tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Vestland county, Norway. This court is based at two different courthouses which are located in Bergen and Lofthus, Vestland, Lofthus. The co ...

and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Muni ...

Municipal council

The

() of Ullensvang is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Ullensvang (incomplete list): *2019–present: Roald Aga Haug ( Ap) *2003-2019: Solfrid Borge ( Sp)

Notable people

Public service

* Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg (1827 in Ullensvang – 1911) theologian, educator and politician * Knud Knudsen (1832 in Odda – 1915) one of Norway's first professional photographers * Halldor O. Opedal (1895 in Lofthus – 1986) a Norwegian teacher and folklorist * Eiliv Austlid (1899 in Ullensvang – 1940) a Norwegian farmer and army officer * Torbjørn Mork (1928 in Odda – 1992) a Norwegian physician and civil servant * la mamma (1971 in Odda) a beautiful mother

The Arts

* Nils Tjoflot (1865 in Tjoflot – 1898) a Norwegian violinist * Georg Brochmann (1894 in Ullensvang – 1952) journalist, writer and playwright *

Zinken Hopp Signe Marie "Zinken" Hopp, née Brochmann (9 January 1905 – 3 September 1987) was a Norwegian writer, poet, playwright. She wrote in several genres: cultural-historical books, poems and travel stories. She translated children's books and was ...

(1905 in Ullensvang – 1987) a Norwegian author, poet and playwright * Claes Gill (1910 in Odda - 1973) a Norwegian author, poet and actor *

Anne B. Ragde Anne Birkefeldt Ragde (born 3 December 1957) is a Norwegian novelist. Ragde was born in Odda and made her literary debut in 1986 with the children’s book ''Hallo! Her er Jo!'' Since then, she has written several books for children and young ad ...

(born 1957 in Odda) a Norwegian novelist IMDb Database
retrieved 23 August 2020 *

Frode Grytten Frode Grytten is a Norwegian writer and journalist. Born 11 December 1960 in Bergen and a native of Odda, he is the author of the Brage Prize-winning novel ''Bikubesong'' ("Song of the Beehive") as well as other short stories and poems. His wo ...

(born 1960) a Norwegian writer and journalist, he grew up in Odda *

Knut Olav Åmås Knut Olav Åmås (born 19 January 1968) is a Norwegian writer, editor and politician for the Conservative Party. He hails from Odda. He holds a cand.philol. degree in philosophy, having taken his master's thesis on Ludwig Wittgenstein at the Un ...

(born 1968 in Odda) a Norwegian writer, editor and politician * Svein Olav Herstad (born 1969 in Odda) a jazz pianist * Leif Einar Lothe (born 1969 in Odda) a Norwegian TV personality, stage name ''Lothepus'' *

Marit Eikemo Marit Eikemo (born 1971) is a Norwegian essayist, novelist, journalist and magazine editor. Eikemo was born in Odda. She edited the book ''Her, no: Møte med unge menneske'' in 1999, and contributed to the essay collection ''Synd.no'' from 2001. ...

(born 1971 in Odda) an essayist, novelist, journalist and magazine editor * Rannveig Djønne (born 1974 in Djønno) a Norwegian folk musician

Sport

Roger Albertsen Roger Albertsen (15 March 1957 – 2 March 2003) was a Norwegian football midfielder. Club career At the age of 17 he travelled abroad, playing professionally for Dutch team FC Den Haag. He later played for Feyenoord Rotterdam, KFC Winterslag ...

(1957–2003) a football midfielder with over 300 club caps and 25 for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

* Håkon Opdal (born 1982 in Odda) a footballer with over 350 club caps and 12 for

Attractions

Ullensvang is Norway's biggest supplier of

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

, especially sweet cherries and

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

s. Every summer a cherry festival is held at Lofthus, where the Norwegian championship of cherry stone spitting is held. The record is by S. Kleivkaas. Each May, a musical festival is held at Ullensvang Hotel (built in 1846), when musicians from all of Norway come to the village. The famous composer

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

spent many summers at Lofthus, and the festival is held in his honor. During the summer, the population is doubled due to

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. Attractions in addition to the previous mentioned, are the medieval Ullensvang Church at Lofthus (built around 1250) and

Kinsarvik Church Kinsarvik Church ( no, Kinsarvik kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kinsarvik. It is the church for the Kinsarvik parish which is part of the Ha ...

(built around 1150), several

waterfalls A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several w ...

such as the Skrikjofossen, the flowering season in May, and

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

s at Aga, Utne, and Skredhaugen.

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway